


Clearing the Air

by Wishfulthinking1979



Series: The Fox and the Lady [7]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Angst and Feels, CC-1010 | Fox Needs A Hug, Drama, Heavy Angst, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Luke is mostly unconscious for this, Skywalker Family Drama (Star Wars), Which is just as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:33:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27073537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishfulthinking1979/pseuds/Wishfulthinking1979
Summary: The opportunity arises for Fox and Anakin to confront the past.
Relationships: CC-1010 | Fox & Anakin Skywalker
Series: The Fox and the Lady [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918327
Comments: 12
Kudos: 56





	Clearing the Air

**Author's Note:**

  * For [morwen_of_gondor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/morwen_of_gondor/gifts).



> I would just like to thank Morwen once more for introducing me to Fox. I have really enjoyed developing him as I prepare him for a more major debut in another story. 
> 
> This confrontation has been on my mind for some time. Buckle up. It gets loud. 
> 
> This takes place shortly before We Fight For Those Who Can't

It smelled terrible. That was the first coherent thought that Fox had. It was like sulphur and ozone together and he gagged slightly, pulling off his helmet in a futile attempt to breathe cleaner air. 

He was lying on his back and he hurt. Still, long experience told him that he didn’t have any serious injuries. He coughed and rolled to his side, grateful for the armor. 

_ Blasters? Yes. Still there.  _

What in the name of the galaxy had happened to cause him to…?

_ Skywalker. Both of them actually. Kriff. _

He moved to hands and knees and drew in deep breaths, working past the smell and managing to raise his head at last and take in his surroundings. 

He’d been flung an impressive distance and the ground and surrounding area looked as though a bomb had exploded out from the center.

How was he not dead…?

Force damn that kid. He did not need people trying to sacrifice themselves for him. He was done with that crap. 

He spotted the young Jedi to his left and staggered over to him.

_ Yes, the Father was somewhere as well. He wasn’t going to care about that yet. _

_ If he ever did. _

He stumbled to his knees by the boy and managed to get a glove off to check for a pulse. There was one, thank the Force, and he proceeded to check Skywalker for injuries.

He couldn’t see anything obviously serious. Some bruises and scrapes and the bump on his head. On the other hand, that had been some sort of mysterious Force related object that they had come out here to….well, Fox didn’t really know what they intended to accomplish with it, really.

So it was entirely possible that something had happened to the young commander because of the object. 

And of course this couldn’t be easy. They had already spent an entire two days, hiking to this location. How had he been roped into this anyway?    
  


Oh that’s right. He’d been a kriffing pushover for sincere tones and trusting blue eyes. And he’d subjected himself to at least three days in Anakin Skywalker’s company because his Jedi son was some sort of optimism magnet and Fox was compelled to humor the kid.

That’s all it was. It had nothing to do with appreciating his relentless friendship or frankly stupendous battle skills which led to the best sparring partner Fox had ever had in his life. 

He carefully lifted the black clad Jedi onto his shoulders and stood, looking around for the Father.

There. General Skywalker lay against the sheer granite face of the cliff they had hiked down the last two days. Fox moved to him and checked his pulse. 

Alive. He supposed that was good since his death would grieve the kid. 

But. He would keep. Fox didn’t like this exposed position especially after they had exploded some Force object. Who knew what was on this forsaken rock?

He found a small hole in the rocky hillside after walking ten minutes. It was too shallow to call it a cave, but it was enough for now and he carefully lowered the younger Skywalker to the sandy earth inside.

Then he returned for the father. 

Who was stirring as he approached the position. 

Fox watched dispassionately from a few feet away. They were here because the General had wanted to track this object down. His son had been reluctant to have him do so on his own. And Fox had been reluctant to turn down the young man’s request for his presence. 

So the way he saw it, this was definitely all the senior Skywalker’s fault. 

Along with half the problems in the galaxy.

The General groaned and eased himself into a sitting position. Fox waited cautiously.

Suddenly he found himself in an invisible grip, unable to move as Skywalker staggered to his feet, one hand braced on the rock behind him.

“Where is my son?”

“Safe,” said Fox as calmly as he could manage while being man handled with the Force.

_ Kriffing Jetii. So quick to make others feel powerless. _

He was released as though the invisible hand had been stung.

“How do you know?”

“Because I carried him to a small cave. If you would follow me, General, I’ll take you….”

Skywalker nodded, moving away from the wall, then doubling over in pain. 

“Sir?” Fox asked, taking a step.

“Just….it’s fine, Fox… give me a minute.”

It didn’t look fine.

“Sir, that blast has left your son unconscious and I don’t want to leave him alone. Clearly, it did something to you as well…..”

“Give me a minute, Commander!” Skywalker snapped.

_ No. Hells no. He didn’t get to hand out attitude since it was at his behest they were here. _

“Painkiller?  _ Sir _ ?” Fox asked pointedly, pulling out a hypo from his belt kit.

“I can….use the Force…. _ kriff _ .”

Pain was very evident on his scarred face.

“Was that from trying to use the Force, General?” Fox asked dryly. 

He received a withering glare.

“Possibly.”

So, yes, then.   
  


“If the painkiller will let us get back to your son more quickly,  _ sir _ , then I  _ respectfully _ suggest you take it.”

“That…..sounded anything but…..respectful, Fox.”

“Didn’t it, sir?”

_ Because he could give all sorts of damns about that right now. _

The older Skywalker sighed longsufferingly and held out a hand.

Fox slapped the hypospray into it.

The General applied it and managed to straighten.

“All right then, Commander. No comment from you. Where’s my son?”

_ No comment? No….? _

“Sir….” Fox was pissed. He likely should keep his mouth shut. Had been effective so far. Because the back log of issues with this ex Sith bastard extraordinaire would take the entire crew of the Lady to unpack.

He began walking instead, back toward where he had left the young Commander.

“Oh no, Commander,” said the Father, moving to catch up and Fox could see he was in pain still, but really only felt satisfaction about that so….

“You’ve been wanting to have it out with me since you came helmet in hand, to join up. Well. Here we are. No one else around to hear. Have at it.”

“I’d rather get to your son, General. The one who was injured in this mad little quest of yours? You may recall?”

“If you thought it was so insane, you didn't have to come,” the General stated grimly.

“Good thing I did though, isn’t it,  _ sir _ ?” Fox snapped. “I came because your  _ son _ asked me to. He may be blinded by his love for you. I have no such qualms.”

“Kriffing hell, Fox, I know I’m not perfect! I’ve been trying to set things right with people. How can I do that with you if you’re not going to talk about it?”

“I’m not your vod’e, sir! I have no need for you to ‘make it right’ as you say. I don’t really want to like you. Don’t want to waste my breath on it!”   
  


“I’m not asking for you to like me!” Skywalker flamed as they stalked through the terrain toward where Fox had left the younger Jedi. “I’d just like to know the specifics of your particular hatred for me!”

“I don’t have that long,” Fox laughed nastily, and he could see the little gouge in the rock where he’d left Skywalker…

There.

The young man’s father stumbled to his knees beside his son to check his vitals. Fox put down the pack he’d been toting and dug for water, tossing one at the General.

It bounced off the side of his head.

“Kriff it to the nine hells, Fox,  _ why _ ..?”

“Accident, sir. Thought you could sense these things.”

_ It really was an accident. Damn satisfying though. _

“I can,  _ normally _ . I was hit by some strange Force blast, you may recall.  _ Commander _ .”

“Indeed, sir. These Jedi….”

“Sith.”

Fox stared at him for a beat.

“These  _ Sith _ artifacts are known to be hazardous to one’s health. Especially, I’ve been told, if you’re Force sensitive.”

“Force  _ damn _ it, Fox, how many ways did you want to say it’s my fault?!”

“I’m sure I can come up with some more, General.”

Skywalker pushed to his feet, staggering slightly, and apparently satisfied that his son would be all right. 

“Taking the opportunity, Commander? I can’t do too much in the Force, thought you’d get your hits in now? Well. Here I am. Have at me, Fox,” he snarled and the menace pouring off him was very reminiscent of his other persona.

And no way in nine hells was Fox going to be accused of cowardice.

He moved swiftly into the General’s space.

“I would come after you if you were still  _ Darth Vader.  _ Hells, I would have come after that eternally damned mir’osik* but he got blown up before I could!”

“NO!” snarled Skywalker, taking a step closer. They were inches apart now but Fox had never backed down in his life.

“NO, I KILLED THE BASTARD, FOX. THAT’S HOW HE DIED!”

Ok. Well. That…….he hadn’t called that.

But a sudden surge of deep seated fury overcame Fox as that knowledge sank in.

“AND YOU COULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT SOONER YOU HU’TUUN*?”

“ _ WHAT _ DID YOU CALL ME??”

Skywalker’s fists were clenched and Fox knew the look of a man who wanted to badly take a swing. 

“You know what I said,  _ SKYWALKER _ !” Fox hurled back at him. “Your vod’e speaks it---I know you understand. WHY THE HELLS DIDN’T YOU TAKE HIM OUT? THAT SLAVING PIECE OF FILTH….!”   
  


And the General stepped back, panting, as if Fox really had swung at him, and the anguish in those blue eyes couldn’t be more keen than if the Commander had stabbed him in the heart.

“I….I….couldn’t. YOU DON’T KNOW…..!!”

“What? That Padme’ Amidala died shortly before you became Vader? That Obi-Wan just….disappeared? I can put things together,  _ General _ . No doubt you had tragedy. Welcome to the galaxy. WHY DID YOURS HAVE TO RESULT IN FULL ON BETRAYAL OF EVERYONE YOU EVER LOVED?????”

And Anakin Skywalker put up a hand as though to ward off the attack of words.

But Fox wasn’t finished.

“You  _ knew _ we were chipped!! After you fell. You knew. And you did NOTHING! And we were  _ forced _ to…..”

He broke off, the grief of Order 66 still fresh as though it was yesterday.

He wondered if Ahsoka had made it through that. But then he felt an intangible shove and realized with some trepidation, that the Force was returning to Skywalker as he advanced.

“YES! But sure, let’s talk about that Fox!! Let’s talk about the chips. Because the one who could have told me sooner was shot like an animal. BY YOU!!!”

And for the first time in years, Fox flinched. 

_ He saw Fives in nightmares still. Watched himself pull the trigger, knowing what he did now. How it may have changed things…. _

“And I regret it even now, Skywalker. I would change that if I could. But I figured that out the moment my chip was deactivated. Oh yes, when you TRIED TO KILL ME. WHEN DID YOU FEEL REGRET? IN THE TWO DECADES YOU PERPETUATED EVIL, WHEN DID YOU  _ FINALLY _ FEEL REGRET? WHEN THERE WAS SOMETHING IN IT FOR YOU?????”   
  


And he looked to the unconscious Jedi near them. 

General Skywalker just stood as though he had been turned to stone. 

“ _ NO _ . No…..I….” and suddenly, for the very first time, Fox saw a tired, middle aged man, with the weight of millions of souls on his conscience and heart. 

“Regret is the air I breathe and the food I eat, Commander. It is my constant companion and joined me the moment that I rose before Palpatine, after….”

And he stopped suddenly. 

“What happened with Kenobi?” Fox asked bluntly. “What separated you? You were….brothers.”

_ You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you! _

But Skywalker was shaking his head. 

“Commander….you are owed….restitution for many things---restitution I can never give unless you kill me here. And I would let you if it were not for the boy there.”

And he would not let Skywalker see how much that shook Fox. Because he heard utter sincerity in that grating and grieving voice. 

“But….I cannot speak of Kenobi to you. I will say this.”

He took a breath and composed himself, then looked slightly startled.

He raised a hand and a rock floated over. 

_ Oh good. Force aspects were back in play. Osik*.  _

“Good to know it’s temporary. Sorry. I will say this, Commander. I abhor your slavery to Palpatine. I do need to seek your forgiveness for that. I was a coward. But….but you should know…..I…..it was not for personal reasons completely that I decided to overthrow him. I had decided that before I knew who Luke was. The discovery that my son lived added incentive of course. But I….I built Death Squadron with the intention of slaying my master. I never wanted the throne.”

_ And that was another bit of information he hadn’t expected. _

“Then what…?”

“I don’t know, Commander,” Skywalker said wearily as Luke began to stir at last. “Put Piett on it? I really hadn’t thought that far….”

Fox couldn’t help the grin that popped onto his face at that statement, and the General returned it.

“Have you ever informed the Admiral of that intention, sir?”

And Skywalker’s grin grew more broad. “No. It was a wild idea---he was the best man I could think of, one who would be just, who would be respected…”

And Fox did something he hadn’t done in at least a decade. 

He laughed. 

“I think perhaps, General, for the sake of the Admiral’s sanity, you shouldn’t share that tidbit. I can’t imagine him ever agreeing to such a plan.”

“I think, Commander, that you may be right.”

Luke groaned and moved to sit up.

If Fox was to finish things, he ought to do so before the younger Skywalker was fully cognizant. And he surprised himself that he _wanted_ to finish things.

“General.”

Skywalker looked up from where he knelt to help his son.

“I accept. What you offered.”

He didn’t need to explain further and those blue eyes gave him gratitude.

“Thank you, Commander Fox. Let’s figure out how to get out of here.”

**Author's Note:**

> In order:  
> Mir'osik--shit for brains
> 
> Hu'tuun-coward
> 
> Osik-crap


End file.
